Chapter 91: An unexpected, and unwelcome visitor
The last meeting hadn’t been a walk in the park. They had been even more explosive and even more of a piece of shit in Cass’ mind compared to the others, which was saying something. But, he was through it, and leaning back in his chair, Cass exhaled slowly as Byron showed the idiot out.
Cass now knew who exactly was stealing more money from him than he would allow, he’d met all the people he needed to, he just hadn’t been able to meet up with a realtor yet to look at what his options were. He had hoped that he had a property manager or something, but Sam hadn’t set him up with a meeting with them. Maybe he hadn’t been clear about that, but it didn’t matter.
If he did too much today, he had a feeling that they would get suspicious. Who? No idea. He just had a feeling, and he did not want to make any of them suspicious. He simply didn’t want to deal with them.
"Shall I go grab the book you were reading before, my Lord?" Sam asked as he placed a plate of snacks and a cup of tea on the desk. Cass exhaled slowly, before he nodded, covering his eyes.
"That would be ideal." Cass mumbled, his brain melted from all the information he’d had to process, and all the garbage he’d had to deal with. Sam smiled and nodded, before he scurried away. Cass sat there for a moment, taking a few deep breaths, leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed.
It was quiet. It was peaceful. The window was still open so he could feel a small breeze. The birds had long disappeared for the night, and there weren’t any other animals that would be brazen enough to mess with the home of two dragons.
A soft knock sounded at the door, and Cass, thinking it was one of his henchmen, exhaled.
"Come in." He called, and the door creaked open. Byron and Sam never creaked the door open, they just pushed it open. Sensing something was up, he uncovered his eyes to notice that it was neither of them, and one of the people he did not want to see.
Draken.
He looked sheepish, like a beaten puppy before Cass had even said anything, which made Cass frown deeply. His damn shoulders were hunched, and if he’d had ears, they would have been pressed against his head, his tail between his legs.
"What are you doing here?" Cass demanded, his body tensing. He didn’t have it in him to deal with Draken so soon. He was exhausted. He would have preferred that if he was going to meet him that he was going to do so after he’d had his rest. He’d already seen the man once today, and that had been when he had stormed in with Lady Fiona early in the morning.
Draken swallowed, glancing around the room and noticed that no one else was here. Cass didn’t trust that for a minute. He’d probably planned his visit down to the minute. Waiting for Sam or Byron to be away from his study.
"I...I wanted to discuss your magic lessons." He mumbled, and Cass narrowed his gaze. Draken, of all people, being this meek? He didn’t trust it.
"My magic lessons?" Cass repeated, and Draken nodded. He was fiddling with his hands, looking all weak and innocent and like he couldn’t hurt a fly. Cass snorted, leaning forward in his chair and Draken flinched. "Draken, if you wanted to bother me, just say so. Putting up this act is rather exhausting, isn’t it?" Cass suggested and Draken grumbled.
"If I didn’t put up this act, you wouldn’t even let me in the door." He protested, and Cass blinked several times, before he started laughing.
"Would that actually stop you?" Cass asked, his lips turned up in a rather devious-looking smile. Draken slid his orange gaze towards him, before he slid them away, his gaze going to the window.
"I would...consider it." Draken said and Cass shook his head, staring down at the papers under his hands before he sighed.
"Why are you so insistent on these magic lessons, Draken?" Cass asked and watched as the other man glanced at him quickly before he turned his gaze back to the window. He wasn’t looking at him like a damn guilty animal. Cass had never had pets, but he’d seen how dogs looked at their owners at the park after they’d eaten another dog’s shit.
Draken had a similar expression on his face.
"I just...I feel if I wasn’t this insistent you wouldn’t have anything to do with me anymore. You...you were distant before, but I can feel it now. I know that if I don’t hold onto this, you might really push me away forever. I...don’t want that, so here I am." Draken sighed heavily. "This is the most I’ve put into a relationship of any kind, just so you know. Fiona was much easier to handle." He mumbled the last sentence, but Cass could hear him still.
He sighed, resting his head against his hand, his elbow leaning against the wooden surface of his desk.
"If she is easier to handle, why don’t you go bother her then?" Cass replied and Draken’s eyes widened, before he tightened his expression.
"I don’t want to. You’ve always interested me, but now I feel like I have a chance to get closer to you. I’m not...I know I’ve been an ass, alright? I can tell that. I just want to prove to you that I am good enough to have around." Cass hummed thoughtfully, and Draken seemed to tense as he didn’t say anything more than that.
After a long, long pause, Cass pushed his chair back. He didn’t put much force behind it, so it was quiet, and he got up. He circled around the desk, coming to the front and pausing before Draken.
Draken stiffened as Cass stopped a few inches from him. Cass put his hands on his hips, a smile on his lips, but Draken, smartly, didn’t trust it.
"You just trained a dragon to be by my side. What makes you think I have any use for you now?" Cass asked and Draken stiffened more. Cass watched as smoke puffed from his nose, and his pupils elongated. Draken reached for his hands, clasping them tightly. Tight enough that Cass could see the flesh bulge around his fingers. Had his nails elongated?
Interesting.
"I am not replaceable." Draken stated firmly. "Especially not by some fresh-faced, barely out of fledgeling stage dragon." His voice filled the air, and it felt like electricity was in the air. Cass felt his hair stand on end, and he knew, like when he spoke to the gods, that he was speaking to a being of immeasurable strength and power.
Cass scoffed and waved a hand dismissively.
"Sure, sure. You may say that, but I haven’t exactly seen what other things you could offer me, Draken. It’s certainly not loyalty. You’ve given that to Lady Fiona. Byron can give that to me." Draken’s nostrils flared.
"He isn’t interested in you, is he?" Draken’s voice was growly, angry, and Cass had no idea why he had that kind of tone.
"Interested in me? As his Lord, maybe, but not anything else." Cass said carefully, having a feeling he knew what Draken was saying, but absolutely ignoring the implications. Draken huffed.
"Then he can’t take care of you the way I can take care of you. And as much as I am married to Fiona, I am human married to Fiona. You are the one I am not married to in a human sense, Cassian. If we went further..." Draken blushed. He released his hand, rubbing it against his jaw. "We would be married for a lot longer than I would be with Fiona." Oh, would they? How kind of Draken to leave out the fact that it would be FOREVER.
Cass would be married to Draken for the rest of his life if they went further then a damn kiss or hug. That wasn’t anything he could commit to, especially since he didn’t even like Draken like that. Plus, this wasn’t his body!
Sure, Lord Blackburn might have liked Draken at least physically, but who the hell wouldn’t? The man was built like a Greek god, all strength and muscles are barely a single brain cell. That was all fine and dandy, but if it got out that they were married, as two men, the whole fucking world would lose their minds.
Cass wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment. He wasn’t ready for that kind of relationship, and this whole thing had been forced onto him. He could not, no, would not see it in a positive light like Draken was.
Draken, sensing a shift in his emotions, swallowed heavily.
"You...You don’t like that." Draken muttered, deflating and Cass had to stop himself from physically wincing. Damn his beaten dog act. Cass felt like a monster making him behave this way.
"Draken." Cass started. The other man perked up. "If I had forced you into this kind of contract without full knowledge about it, would you behave the way you are now?" Draken took a moment to think about it, before he nodded slowly.
"I would, because I would view it as an opportunity, the same way I am now." Cass blinked. What? Was he an idiot? Cass felt the next words leave his lips, but he regretted them immediately after.
"Even if I had to top you?" Cass felt his eyes widen, Draken’s eyes widened, and Cass slapped his hand over his mouth. "Disregard what I just said." Cass sputtered, but Draken, inhaling slowly, stepped closer to Cass, his eyes narrowing.
"Even if you had to top me? What do you mean by that?" Draken tilted his head to the side, and it was such an unusual motion for him that Cass found himself floundering more. Draken’s human skin was shifting, falling off, and Cass had a damn feeling that he was the one who did it.
Why the fuck had he said that? He should have known better! It would have been smarter to say it to the fucker, Vespertine, then the damn Dragon before him!
Cass stumbled back a few steps until his ass hit his desk, and something fell over. He glanced back, making sure it wasn’t the tea, only to find that it was just his pen holder. Turning back, he found that Draken was even closer, leaning in. His hot breath fanned over Cass’ face, and he was glad that he had a hand over his mouth.
"Cassian? What did you mean?" Draken prompted again, and Cass felt his heart thump in his chest. Fuck. Fuck!
"I-I was just suggesting-" Cass mumbled, stuttering over his lips as Draken placed his hand on Cass’ desk, pushing. He was pushing Cass back, until he was at a strange angle, trying to avoid being pressed against Draken’s chest. He was caging him. The damn fucking predator.
"You weren’t suggesting that in a way that meant like in a food chain sense, were you?" Draken rumbled, and Cass could feel himself panicking. Where the fuck was Sam? He should have only been gone for a minute!
"O-Of course not! How could I be a bigger predator than you?" Cass spat out, his hand still over his mouth. Draken’s orange gaze blazed bright, and Cass watched as his second set of eyelids slid across his eyes. Cass gasped. Fuck. He really thought that was cool.
He nearly jumped out of his skin when Draken chuckled.
"That means...you were talking about sex, weren’t you?" Cass felt his cheeks flame. Fuck fuck fuck! "Did you think about having sex with me, Cassian?" Draken teased and Cass flushed.
"No, I did not!" Cass knew his shout only made it seem like he was lying, but he was telling the truth. He had intentionally avoided thinking about it with any of the men. It would not do him any well if he thought about someone else’s husband like that, nor would it be easy for him to leave if that was the case.
Draken’s chuckle, his breath against his skin made every hair on Cass’ body stand on end.
"Do you truly think you could top me then, Cassian?"